OzForex has received a takeover offer

Australian online foreign exchange provider OzForex has revealed that it has received a unsolicited, non-binding takeover approach from rival foreign exchange services provider Western Union.

“The indicative proposal contemplates an all cash consideration of between $3.50 to $3.70 per OzForex share,” said OzForex in a statement to the ASX.

The proposal is subject to a number of conditions, including access to due diligence, retention of management and relevant regulatory approvals.

OzForex stated there is no certainty that the proposal will result in a binding offer for the company, what the terms of any such offer would be, or whether there will be a recommendation by the board.

OzForex’s board has advised that shareholders do not need to take any action in response to the offer and that the company will continue to to keep the market informed in accordance with its continual disclosure obligations.

Macquarie Capital Limited and Clayton Utz are advising Ozforex on the offer.

Shares in OzForex have leapt over 30% from Wednesday’s closing level of $2.60.

The takeover approach comes less than a week after Richard Kimber, CEO of OzForex, told Business Insider of his plans to expand the firms reach beyond Australia.

He outlined plans to change the name of the firm from OzForex to OFX, likely before Christmas, in order to broaden its appeal to customers outside of Australia.

“In the US they don’t really know what forex is. I think forex is a form of Australian colloquialism. OZ and Forex together makes sense in Australia but makes less sense the further away from Australia you get. They don’t know what we’re talking about,” he told Business Insider.

“So instead of being OzForex, USforex, it will be one global brand which will be OFX,”

The company is on an accelerated growth path, focusing on acquiring new customers and expanding geographically.

In the latest half year results, the company posted underlying net profit up 12% to $12.309 million. Statutory profit was down 6% to $11.223 million because of a series of one-off costs including a proposed acquisition which stalled.